The world of cinema is no stranger to tales of conspiracy, especially when it comes to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The latest entrant into the ‘mother of all conspiracies’ is Assassination, a project that has been in the making for quite some time now.
Penned by Oscar nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, Assassination will be a speculative retelling of the assassination of JFK, with a twist: the film will be told from the perspective of the mob.
According to Deadline, the plot suggests that JFK’s death was a premeditated hit orchestrated by Chicago mob lynchpin Sam Giancana. This was supposedly an act of revenge for JFK’s undermining of the mob that had previously supported his election campaign.
If this storyline feels somewhat familiar, it’s because Kennedy’s alleged mob ties were also explored in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film, JFK.
Being a film about the mob, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Al Pacino is set to play the role of senior mob boss Tony Accardo. The accomplished veteran actor will share the screen with several notable actors, including Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, and John Travolta.
Mamet was originally set to direct the film, but recent reports indicate that American filmmaker Barry Levinson has taken over the director’s chair. The 81-year-old filmmaker, who’s known for classics such as Rain Man and Bugsy, previously collaborated with Mamet in 1997’s political satire Wag the Dog.
The assassination of JFK has been a topic of debate for decades (there are countless Reddit threads if you feel like going down this rabbit hole). The official investigation pinned Lee Harvey Oswald as the sole gunman, but over the years, numerous conspiracy theories have emerged, suggesting Oswald either had accomplices or was entirely innocent.
These theories often implicate various powerful organizations and individuals, ranging from the FBI, the CIA, the U.S. military, the Mafia, and even Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Obviously, Hollywood loves a good political conspiracy, which means this won’t be the first time the JFK assassination has been explored in a film. Oliver Stone’s JFK sought to unravel the conspiracy, suggesting that Oswald didn’t act alone.
Though the film faced heavy criticism at the time of its release for its deviation from historical facts, it was a massive box office hit, grossing over $205 million against a modest $40 million budget. During the awards season, the film also earned eight Academy Award nominations, bagging two.
While Assassination is still in its early stages and a release date is yet to be announced, the film’s premise and its stellar cast have already garnered significant attention. Fans and critics alike will be eager to see how this new take on the JFK assassination conspiracy will unfold on the big screen.
In the meantime, this might be a good time to revisit some of the classics in this genre, like 1976’s All the President’s Men and Denzel Washington’s The Manchurian Candidate. Word of advice: you might not want to binge too many of these films, or you’ll find yourself wearing a tinfoil hat.
